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After a two-year-long saga to determine whether bars in Uptown will be forced to close in order to comply with a midnight curfew, Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee will hear a new presentation on Monday morning from planning department head David Cossum.
Although the the public will not get a chance to speak at the meeting, opponents of the late-night curfew or “overlay” are rallying people to show up to the meeting in opposition of the proposed overlay and to contact council members to encourage them to reject the proposal.
Originally presented by The Uptown Neighborhood Association — TUNA for short —proponents of the new zoning overlay argue that it has made other entertainment districts safer and improved relationships with the homeowners who live near them. Lower Greenville was designated a "planned development district," which required bars in the area to obtain a special use permit to stay open until 2 a.m.
In late 2015, when the measure was initially proposed, bar owners in Uptown voiced concerns that the new rule would seriously impact their businesses. "About 33 percent of all sales on McKinney Avenue happen after midnight," Parliament’s Eddie Campbell told Eater at the time. "For some of these bars, if they’re known to be a late-night destination, as much as 40 percent of their sales take place between the hours of 12 and 2 a.m.
While the proposed curfew was rejected by ZOAC (the plan commission's subcommittee on zoning) and the Plan Commission itself, Monday's meeting provides an opportunity for the Quality of Life committee to send the decision to the full Dallas City Council to vote on. Out of the seven members on the Quality of Life committee, a majority (four) reportedly support the overlay and will likely recommend that it goes to City Council for a vote. Which means that bar owners will likely be biting their nails on Monday.
The Dallas City Council's Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee meets on Monday, November 13 at 9 a.m. in room 6ES at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street.
